Sidearms
A listing of sidearms available to members of the Stargate Program. M9A1 A popular series of 9mm pistols, made by Beretta of Italy, the Beretta 92 has been adopted by numerous militaries and law enforcement agencies, including the United States Military, Italian Armed Forces, and French Military. The US Military uses the Beretta 92FS, known as the M9, which is the same model used by the Italian Military. The French Military, however, uses a different model, the Beretta 92G, known as the PAMAS G1 (Pistolet Automatique dela Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Etienne). It uses a short recoil system, with a slide-mounted decocker, and uses 15 round magazines of 9x19mm. The M9 has been accused of having reliability issues, but aside from teething issues from the initial production batch, this is more atributed to sub-standard quality magazines that were being issued, an issue largely overcome. SIG Sauer P228 Developed as a compact version of the SIG Sauer P226, the P228 is in use with various law enforcement agencies, as well as the United States military, under the designation M11. Unlike the P226, the P228 is only offered in 9x19mm, and uses 13 round magazines, though it can accept magazines compatible with the P226, though they do have the side effect of extending past the base of the grip. Production was briefly halted for civilian sales after the introduction of the P229, but was resumed after popular demand. Functionally, the P228 works identically to the P226. SIG Sauer P229 A concealed-carry version of the SIG Sauer P226, the P229 was the first production pistol to be chambered in .357 SIG, and offered that, 9x19mm and .40 Smith & Wesson chamberings, unlike the P228. Unlike the P226 and P228, the P229 uses milled steel for it's receiver, which was intended to handle the higher velocities of the .357 SIG and .40 S&W rounds, as the stamped steel slide of the P228 could not without considerable modification. Changing calibers is a simple process, requiring only a change in barrels, and .40 S&W magazines can even be used with .357 SIG rounds. A separate variant, the P229 DAK, was developed as a Double-Action Only (DAO) version, which has a recessed hammer, which streamlines the shape. M1911A1 The Colt M1911 pistol has been a mainstay in the firearms world since it's inception and adoption by the US Army in 1911. A rugged and reliable .45 caliber handgun, it has been copied the world over, running just behind the AK-47 in terms of popularity and off-shoot designs. It is a single-action semi-automatic pistol, and the "vanilla" M1911 uses single-stack 7-round magazines, but larger capacity magazines exist, including double-stack 14-round magazines. Manufacturers include Colt, Springfield Armory, Kimber, Para-Ordnance, Rock Island Armory, NORINCO, STI, STAR, IMBEL and many others. Though the US Military still uses the M9 as it's sidearm, many prefer the tried and true reliability of the 1911 and the stopping power of the .45ACP bullet, and many officers have been known to purchase their own, since there are so many on the civilian market. Militaries across the planet still use it as their standard sidearm. The US Marine Corps Special Forces use custom built models, the MEU(SOC), assembled by Marine armorers at Quantico, though these are become more rare as the Marines have switched to mass produced Kimber ICQBs. MK.23 Developed in response to the US Special Operation's Offensive Handgun Weapon System (OHWS) program, the Heckler & Koch entry beat out the Colt entry, and became the Mark 23. It is a heavy pistol, chambered in .45ACP, and is intended to be used as both as a sidearm and as a primary weapon. Knight Armament Company developed a custom suppressor for it, which actually works even better after being submerged. However, while it has performed quite well, there were many criticisms raised about it's size, prompting the creation of the USP Tactical, which was later developed into the HK-45. It is still found in the hands of American, Polish, Malaysian and Indonesian Special Forces units, and a civilian model does exist. MK.24 A highly popular pistol among law enforcement and Special Operations, the SIG Sauer P226 (known as the Mk. 24 in US Navy useage) is currently used by a wide range of military and law enforcement agencies, including the United States Navy SEALs, Federal Bureau of Investigation, the British Army (as the L105A1 and L106A1), Special Air Service, and Canadian Special Forces. The standard chambering is 9x19mm, but SIG Sauer offers the P226 in .40 S&W and .357 SIG as well. It is also the basis for two more variants, the P228 and P229 (see entries for specific information), both compact versions of the P226. It uses the same short recoil system as the M1911 and Browning Hi-Power, though with some alterations, mainly changing the locking lugs and recesses, SIG opted to use an enlerged breach to lock the barrel and slide together, and so far has shown to have no disadvantage. It has no safety, but uses a hammer de-cocker, which allows the hammer to be safely dropped without discharging the weapon using the decocking lever. It is a double-action pistol, and can be fired from the de-cocked position once the lever has been disengaged. HK45 Designed by H&K for the United States Joint Combat Pistol (JCP) program to replace the Beretta M9 with a .45ACP pistol, the HK-45 is a refinement of the USP series of pistols. It was developed in collaboration with Larry Vickers, an ex-Delta Force operator and renown gunsmith, and Ken Hackathorn. It builds on the established design of the USP, P2000 and P30 handguns, improving ergonomics with an ambidextrous safety, textured grip, and interchangeable backstrap to fit the shooter's hand better. It uses H&Ks polygonal barrel technology, which has been the backbone of their pistols. So far, it has been seeing use with American and Australian Special Operations teams. Glock One of the most famous pistols in the world, the Glock pistol was designed in 1980 to meet a very stringent series of requirements to replace the Austrian Army's aging Walther P38 pistol. It is legendarily reliable, while also being built with lightweight polymers where possible to reduce weapon weight, and is also extremely simple to use, and can be stripped without tools and in minutes and reassembled just as easy. Since then, it has become the staple of law enforcement units, military units and even a favorite with civilians, with multiple variants being created to meet various requirements for new calibers, and sizes, ranging from full size to sub-compact, as well as competition grade models. One model, the 18, is unique in that it is a fully automatic version, developed at the request of Austria's EKO Cobra counter-terrorism unit, and has an extremely high rate of fire, making it ideal for bodyguards. The Glock can be found on every corner of the planet, and is highly favored for it's reliability and simplicity. MP-443 The standard service pistol of the Russian Military, the MP-443 Grach (Russian for "rook") replaced the Makarov PM in 2003. Unusually, the MP-443 favors an all steel construction over the polymers used by pistols of it's generation, but this is due in part to the ammunition it was designed to handle. It is chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum, but Russian issue ammunition for the MP-443 is somewhat different, designated as 9x19mm 7N21 in GRAU index. 7N21 differs from standard 9mm loads because it uses much "hotter" grain loads than normal, even compared to 9x19mm +P, and is also fitted with an armor-piercing bullet with a steel core, improving it's armor piercing capabilities. Due to it's all-steel design, the MP-443 can easily handle these loads without the excessive wear that would accompany using "hot" rounds. Mechanically, the pistol uses the same modified Browning short recoil system found in SIG handguns, and feets from a 17 round magazine, and features an ambidextrous manual safety behind the slide release. A civilian market version, the MP-446 "Viking", is functionally the same pistol, but was not designed to accept the same "hot" loads of 9x19mm. Five-Seven When FN Herstal developed the 5.7x28mm round and the P90 personal defense weapon, they also developed a pistol to go with it, and introduced it in 1998. The Five Seven, named for it's caliber (though in FN's marketing, it's spelled Five-seveN). It is a double action pistol, with no exposed hammer, and utilizes ambidextrous controls and large capacity magazines. Like the P90, the Five-Seven is capable of defeating body armor, which has gained it popularity for off-world teams. It has become increasingly popular with military and law enforcement due to it's armor piercing capabilities, including the US Secret Service, and French GIGN counter-terrorist unit. Desert Eagle Originally developed in 1979 by American manufacturer Magnum Research and then later refined in 1983 by Israeli Military Industries, the Desert Eagle handgun is well known for a number of reasons. Mechanically, it is famous for using a gas operating system found in rifles, which allows it to handle the massive handgun calibers that it is chambered in. Additionally, it is known for the heavy bullets it uses as a semi-automatic, using rounds such as .357 and .44 Magnum, which are rounds typically only found in revolvers. However, many more know it from the sheer number of films and video games that the Desert Eagle has been featured in. A large sized handgun, the Desert Eagle has gained popularity primarily as a target and big-game hunting pistol, rather than in any law enforcement or military circles. It can be fitted with a 6-inch barrel that is flush with the rest of the pistol, or a 10-inch barrel that protrudes from the receiver further to better improve accuracy. The latest model, the Mark XIX, can be fitted with either a standard Picatinny rail or dove-tail mounts for pistol optics. For those who want a bit of flair with their weapon, the Desert Eagle is offered in a wide range of finishes, from standard black and blued, to polished chrome and even gold plating. However, as popular and well known the Desert Eagle is, most military units, even Special Forces units, have dismissed it's tactical uses. While they admit to the value of the heavy hitting rounds it can utilize, the sheer size of the weapon, pricetag, and it's limited ammo capacity have been noted as limiting factors. Rumors are abound, however, that some personnel have chosen to use this weapon anyways, and the Desert Eagle is still available for sale by civilians, even if the price comes close to double what most other semi-automatic pistols run. QSZ-92 Developed in 1994 and now the standard service pistol of the People's Liberation Army, the QSZ-92 comes in two forms: the QSZ-92-9, chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum, and the QSZ-92-5.8, which is chambered in the Chinese-designed 5.8x21mm round. The QSZ-92-9 is intended more for export than domestic use, while the QSZ-92-5.8's round shares a great deal in common with the Belgian 5.7x28mm PDW round, found in the P90 or Five-Seven. It utilizes a mounting rail under the barrel for tactical lights or laser devices, and has so far only been exported to Bangladesh. However, a large number of QSZ-92s of both models have ended up, illegally, in the hands of the Imperial Brotherhood. While the QSZ-92-9 is overshadowed by the more popular Vektor CP1, the QSZ-92-5.8 is favored by Brotherhood Special Ops units due to it's overall similarities to the FN Five-Seven. Category:Specifications Category:SGC Category:Aureus Celestis Expedition Category:Atlantis Expedition Category:HMCS Aurora Category:HMCS Polaris Category:United States Armed Forces Category:Russian Armed Forces Category:USS Sovereign Category:USS Pillar of Dawn Category:USS Tria Category:USS Trevithan Category:Lucian Alliance Category:Imperial Brotherhood